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useless samaritan
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I was coming back in from somewhere, and saw a woman sitting on the porch of a house for sale on Stuyvesant. Some weeks back, I had picked up a painting being given away from there (in a pile of stuff by the curb with a sign on it), and thought I would like to know something about the artist while there was still someone to ask. I stopped in my house long enough to take a phone picture and rode my bike over there.
She wasn't on the porch, so I rang the bell. I was answered by a vague voice from inside that I couldn't quite make out. I awkwardly tried to explain what I was doing there, finally opening the screen door to hear her better. That's when I saw that she was lying on the floor. I went right in.
She had fallen, of course. It couldn't have been long ago, because I'd seen her on the porch. She asked me who I was and I told her. I asked how she was, but she didn't quite know. She was bleeding a tiny bit from her lip and asked for some tissue, which I brought. I asked if she'd like help getting up, and she declined (each time I asked). She asked who I was again. We conversed briefly about the picture, which she didn't remember anything about.
I looked at the counter, at items of mail and so forth, looking for clues as to who I could call. I asked if I could bring her anything -- a small chair to help her pull herself up, if she didn't want me to help her up. She asked for a little stool that didn't look useful to me at all, but I brought it. I also brought her her phone and the card file with all her numbers. She didn't want a drink of water, either. We kept talking. She would ask me my name and I'd tell her, and she'd ask which street I lived on, and I'd tell her.
She seemed to want me to leave, so I finally did. I have to be here to get Sarah from the bus. I picked up a card from the realtor who's selling the house and called and left a message on his cell phone. I'll call again and leave one at his office. After I get Sarah, I might go by there again to see if she's up yet. Maybe I should knock on the door at her neighbors' houses to see if someone there knows her.
I feel like I haven't done enough. It was lucky that I could be there so soon after she fell, but now what?
Update - Things are better now. Thanks again for suggestions in comments. More details are in my comment in the thread.
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I was coming back in from somewhere, and saw a woman sitting on the porch of a house for sale on Stuyvesant. Some weeks back, I had picked up a painting being given away from there (in a pile of stuff by the curb with a sign on it), and thought I would like to know something about the artist while there was still someone to ask. I stopped in my house long enough to take a phone picture and rode my bike over there.
She wasn't on the porch, so I rang the bell. I was answered by a vague voice from inside that I couldn't quite make out. I awkwardly tried to explain what I was doing there, finally opening the screen door to hear her better. That's when I saw that she was lying on the floor. I went right in.
She had fallen, of course. It couldn't have been long ago, because I'd seen her on the porch. She asked me who I was and I told her. I asked how she was, but she didn't quite know. She was bleeding a tiny bit from her lip and asked for some tissue, which I brought. I asked if she'd like help getting up, and she declined (each time I asked). She asked who I was again. We conversed briefly about the picture, which she didn't remember anything about.
I looked at the counter, at items of mail and so forth, looking for clues as to who I could call. I asked if I could bring her anything -- a small chair to help her pull herself up, if she didn't want me to help her up. She asked for a little stool that didn't look useful to me at all, but I brought it. I also brought her her phone and the card file with all her numbers. She didn't want a drink of water, either. We kept talking. She would ask me my name and I'd tell her, and she'd ask which street I lived on, and I'd tell her.
She seemed to want me to leave, so I finally did. I have to be here to get Sarah from the bus. I picked up a card from the realtor who's selling the house and called and left a message on his cell phone. I'll call again and leave one at his office. After I get Sarah, I might go by there again to see if she's up yet. Maybe I should knock on the door at her neighbors' houses to see if someone there knows her.
I feel like I haven't done enough. It was lucky that I could be there so soon after she fell, but now what?
Update - Things are better now. Thanks again for suggestions in comments. More details are in my comment in the thread.
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no subject
If they're clearly disoriented or confused, I'd think I should do it (and might actually do it).
Heart attack times are long partly because they sometimes present in non-standard ways, especially in women (which is to say the "standard ways" appear to be rather sex-biased).
It's not just embarrassment at stake, it can be money, too, depending on how things are done in your community I guess.